Japan’s Latest Hobby is Polishing Foil Balls

If you did a double take on the words “polishing foil balls”, you’re not alone. I understood the words separately. When put together, not so much. Don’t worry, let’s attempt to figure out this “foil ball” trend together.

How did this become a trend?

Well, it all started with a Japanese jeweller. Going by the Twitter handle of @puchuco709, the jeweller took a 16-metre-long roll of aluminium foil, balled it up, and attempted to make it look shiny. @puchuco709 succeeded, and now the whole of Japan is following in his/her/their footsteps. Compared to other viral trends out there, this is harmless and (kind of) hones your art and craft skills too. Also like many viral trends, it does not seem to serve any kind of purpose.

Image Credit: twitter.com

How do you “polish” it?

First, you got to get some aluminium foil and ball it up. Perhaps the rounder the ball, the easier the next steps will be, but I don’t know for sure. Next, you’ll want to get a hammer, to hammer the foil ball into a less “prickly” surface. Repeat this step over and over again till you achieve the desired effect (smooth, kind of). Apparently, you can get stuck at this step for a very long time, so good luck with this. Then, you polish it to make it shine. Some people use scalpels, whereas others use some kind of spongy-looking thing and a paste. After extraordinary amounts of patience, determination, and time, your foil ball will be created.

Image Credits: boredpanda.com

What do you think of this? Would you try it? Or, if you’ve tried it, share your experience with us in the comments below!